It's fascinating: I can't remember the last album to be released that was so inexorably tied to indie-hipsterism and its fickle, ever-changing sense of what's "in." LCD Sound System are so cool that there's a critical/hipster backlash against them before they even released this, their first album. That they include a bonus disk of the early singles that got them where they are today is impressive -- it says that they are willing to let the new material stand beside the more acclaimed older stuff.

Cries of "derivative" are already being levied at LCDSS, and it's true that their taut, rhythmic pop owes a lot to their record collection: Can, Fall, Faust, Eno, Wire, etc. But why not steal from the best? The beats here are minimal, but incredibly nuanced in a way that LCDSS's forefathers never were, and above everything else, this is FUN music. Franz Ferdinand and Interpol are fine at the gloomy herky-jerky thing, but I don't think I'd ever put them on to facilitate having a good time...this is another story!

Not since the first Strokes' record has there been an album so fun and memorable that's been embraced by the smug, self-satisfied Pitchforkmedia generation. And not since the second Strokes album are you likely to see an absolutely unwarrented backlash against them.

But put aside this petty anthropology. Throw on the first disk and rejoice in the spell-binding beats, the amusingly self-efacing vocals, and the starkly propulsive vibe that surges the whole thing forward.

It's official. LCD Soundsystem is 2005's best album, as of February 16, and, although it won't be bought by most for its dance tracks, is possibly the best dance record to come out of the USA since 1979.

If you could pick out one track -- any track -- from this eponymous album, as separate from the record as a whole, you might be able to define the genre, detemine influences, and draw comparisons to a reasonably similar band. But to do so would be entirely unfair to a record which, by its nature is entirely unique, disperse yet unified in vision, and destined to become a classic.

The overall feel of this eclectic album is of indie vocals over very well sequenced rhythms that alternate between vintage 80's, and the best of indie 2004 (the best single year for indie music ever, in my humble opinion). Some tracks are layered with rich experimental guitars, while others let the clever, often spoken but never boring lyrics take the lead. But just when you've got LCD Soundsystem (aka New York producer James Murphy, now co-head of red-hot label/production duo DFA) figured out as Talking Heads meets Cabaret Voltaire meets late model Bowie, as might have been produced and recorded by Factory Records circa 1980, you get thrown for a loop by a track like the perfect "Movement", an almost too-short track which stands out as the best of the record, and whose screeching guitars over industrial bass line and cymbal heavy drums are the rock high point of the record. This energetic plateau leads perfectly into the brilliant, mellow "Never as Tired as When I'm Waking Up", a track that could easily have been taken directly from Elbow's Cast of Thousands, but which seems to work so much better here as part of what turns out to be an incredible compilation of style. The record's closer, "Great Release" is quite comparable to the best you might hear from Moby.

Then you get to disc 2.

That's right. This record, which as a single disc was already brilliant, is a two disc set, for a single album price. That is: it's a two disc set unless you buy on iTunes (don't do this -- do yourself a favor and get the entire two disc record and the six additional tracks).

Disc 2 is even more danceable than disc 1 (which is no small feat). Concentrating more on rhythm, lyrics and soundscape than on hook and radio sellability, the second half of LCD Soundsystem takes off with the classic club anthem "Losing My Edge", which cleverly sounds off many of Murphy's most important influences, and announces, quite accurately, "We all know what you really want". This is followed by the standard club fare "Beat Connection" and then the groovy "Give it Up", which sees the Cramps meeting the Pixies. "Tired" is a thrash guitar celebration and the two versions of "Yeah" are pure modern disco bliss, 70's bassline and all. The second of these is an instrumental triumph of epic proportion.

If I sound excessively excited and annoyingly enthusiastic for this record, it's because I am. By the way, Daft Punk is always playing at my house.

... because this is a pretty good record.

The only thing I knew about LCD Soundsystem was what I read on Amazon. They sounded like my kind of act - any record that can spur comparisons to the Fall, Eno, Can, the Contortions, etc. is something that belongs in my record collection.

So I bought the disc... and was initially a little let down. On first listen, I realized that I'd heard "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" before, and didn't particularly like the song (I still don't). The rest of Disc 1 had its highs and lows, but it sounded a lot more disco-house than disco-punk. As a fan of the Rapture, !!!, et. all I was hoping for more guitars-and-electronics mayhem. Disc 1 has since grown on me a little - particularly the bleepy "Tribulations" and the lush, gorgeous trah "Great Release" that completes the album.

The real gem here is Disc 2, a collection of LCD Soundsystem's earlier singles. Basically, it's droning and at times stunning house (with and without vocals) interspersed with some pretty rauchous sludge-punk ... great stuff! This must be where all the Fall comparisons are coming from, because I really didn't hear it much on the first disc. "Beat Connection" and "Yeah" are fantastic house tracks. If you just don't like house, it'll sound repetitive and tired. If you DO like house, these two tracks in particular (among others on the record) reach some hypnotic heights.

The reviews here are pretty funny. On the one hand, this is a good album but it's far from a contender for "album of the year." It's probably not even the best example of this kind of music to come out in early 2005. But on the other hand ... what's up with the hipster backlash? It's as if some of these folks aren't content to be cool enough to like LCD Soundsystem - nope, it'd be that much cooler to DISlike them. With all the crap that's all over MTV and the airwaves these days, I don't understand picking on a band that's doing something a little different.

Fans of the Faint, the Rapture, !!!, and the whole electroclash revival (when did it happen the first time?) will be happy to add this to their record collections.

After hearing so much about this band and not really knowing anything that they've actually done, I checked this out at a local public library. Well, this continues that current indie trend of the dance-punk. There is quite a bit of hi-hat used in most of the songs. It's also got lots of spoken word tracks as well. I feel that with this album that there isn't a whole lot to say, but even though it won't have much length, I can tell you that if you don't really mind the length of some of these songs that you might be okay. That has always been the problem with me: the songs seem to go on longer than necessary.

There happen to be the highlights though, songs that stop the album from being just dragging. I particularly like the two versions of "Yeah" quite a bit. Something about those stand out quite a bit. Also, there's "Tribulations" on the first disc which is a standout track, complete with its synth that gives it a new-wave feel.

So, yeah, that's all I can really say. It's not really awful by any stretch of the mind, although sometimes it's rather average. But it all depends on what you're looking for. If it's the dance-punk thing is for you, LCD Soundsystem is probably that too. It's decent, so I'm not gonna stop from recommending you this.

I was irritated with this CD at first and felt it was grossly overhyped. But, it grows on you. LCD/JM knows its history and deftly pays homage to a range of styles from elders and contemporaries. He's flaunting it without taking himself too seriously. Give it a few listens before rushing to judge (as I initially did). It's a good album, it just needs to breath a bit.